Brews and Tiny Teeth, The Unfiltered Pediatric Dentistry Podcast

Dr. Ben Popple is pediatric dentist in Georgia who started a scratch practice out of residency for $250k. Six years later, he is building his third office with 18 chairs in a ground-up build. The theme of this episode is minimizing the expenses of your start-up. We identify what things you need to do to keep your costs down, including choosing a contractor, dealing with equipment reps, knowing how to find affordable/used equipment, and reinvesting practice income during the growing years. If you're currently trying to start a dental practice, or have any interest in doing so, this is a great episode to check out! Don't forget to send in your questions, comments, clinical scenarios, and humble brags in for our Pedo Pearls Power Hour. Send us a voice message or email to cgoetz@troypediatricdentist.com and we will break it down on our next episode. 

A couple weeks ago we interviewed a pediatric dentist who had established a busy, successful practice in a small town of 7,000 people. In this episode, we decided to switch things up and talk to a pediatric dentist practicing in New York City, a city with 8 million people!  Dr. Arielle Faden is a pediatric dentist who associates at multiple practices throughout New York and New Jersey. We discuss what life is like practicing in a competitive urban environment, specifically Manhattan. We talk about patient demographics, general anesthesia, non-competes, associateships, posterior zirconia crowns with esthetically concerned parents, and just how to be successful in general in the big city. This is a great episode for residents looking to practice in a big city or urban environment. 

Where does a pediatric dentist put money in 2021? Let's talk a little about the personal finance and wealth-building side of pediatric dentistry.  Evan Koch is a Certified Public Accountant holding the Personal Financial Specialist designation of the American Institute of CPAs. Evan's extensive tax planning experience allows him to incorporate individual and business tax strategies into comprehensive financial plans that include pension planning, wealth management, and business structuring. His practice centers around tax planning and financial consulting for dentists and dental specialists, including many pediatric dentists. He joins us today to talk about the current state of the stock market, inflation, savings rates, paying off student loans, and general steps towards reaching financial freedom. Evan also shares his #1 common attribute that he sees in his most financially successful dental clients.

Dr. Robbie Matthews is a pediatric dentist and the owner of Happy Campers Pediatric Dentistry in Peoria, Arizona. His young practice has exploded in growth over a very short period of time, even in a competitive area. Dr. Casey and Robbie sit down with a beer to go over strategies for growing a pediatric dental practice. We review how to post authentic Facebook content, TikTok, giveaways, and other social media pearls. The main strategy we discuss is simple... you have to "run for mayor" and become part of the community. Being involved and getting your name out there, along with treating patients right and presenting treatment plans properly, will generate internal referrals via the bulletproof word-of-mouth referral method. This is a fantastic discussion with a lot of great wisdom packed into an hour episode. 

Dr. Kaitlin Hoogeveen is a pediatric dentist in a small town in Iowa with just 7,000 people, yet she has grown exponentially and reached her current office capacity within 3 years of starting her practice. We discuss what life is like being the only pediatric dentist in an expansive rural setting, both the advantages and the challenges. We also talk about practice logo design, marketing in a small town, avoiding burnout, and also alternative techniques to conventional drill-and-fill dentistry. Casey and Kaitlin also share their thoughts on a recent online hot topic of how to respond if a parent flat-out refuses your proposed treatment. 

Conservative treatment, SDF, Hall crowns, parents back during ops... dentistry is rapidly changing to keep pace with the desires of the modern parent. But maybe those who forget history are doomed to repeat it? Dr. Brian Richards is a private practice pediatric dentist who joins us to discuss how he makes his practice successful using old-school techniques that work for him. Brian has posted several of these examples online showing traditional operative work being completed on 2, 3, and 4 year-olds using rubber dam isolation, behavior management, and no laughing gas or sedation. We discuss parents back during ops, dismissing difficult families, voice control, building an efficient team, and how often sedation is really necessary. We also reflect on the changing of the times with more conservative treatment (SDF, Hall Crowns, ART), and are we using these techniques appropriately? 

Today's episode is all about general anesthesia. Dr. Geoff Ping discusses his techniques for doing 8-10 GA cases on his surgery days. This episode is loaded with good content and clinical pearls. We talk about order of operations during full-mouth rehab cases, how to decrease turnover time, tricks for cementing crowns, limiting wasted movements, and so much more. If you're a pediatric dentist and you do GA cases, you need to listen to this episode.

Dr. Bryce Evans joins us to discuss parent communication strategies to build trust and strengthen relationships. We touch on Covid issues, presenting treatment plans, cell phones in the office, allowing parents back during treatment, social media, and how parent demands in pediatric dentistry have evolved to the present.

Dr. Sandy Fox is a pediatric dentist in rural Iowa who joins us to talk all things practice numbers. She opened her practice during Covid in a high-needs area and has experienced rapid growth. We discuss how money gets handled in the practice, profit and loss statements, end of day metrics, daily/monthly goals, and managing overhead.

Justin Fodor of Wells Fargo Practice Finance joins the podcast to discuss lending and the path to ownership in the world of pediatric dentistry. We review how Covid has effected the marketplace for buyers, and touch on specific issues for both startups and existing practice acquisitions. Justin gives us some insight on how to position yourself to become a strong candidate for securing a practice loan. This is an important discussion for anyone interested in becoming a practice owner during their career.